Iditarod 2010

Lots of Iditarod competitors are happy to arrive in Unalakleet; the checkpoint, as the first stopover on the Norton Sound coast, signals that a musher’s long run to Nome is entering its final stretches. But recently, one musher was exceptionally happy to pull into Unalakleet; he’s not only a proud Unalakleet resident, but also its…

Vern Ott has come all the way from Kansas City to be a part of the Iditarod – not as a competitor, but as a volunteer veterinarian – and this is his fourth year doing so. The race depends on countless volunteers like Ott; vets, in particular, serve a crucial role, since they keep the…

The race inches closer to the finish line! Hear Ric and Linda break down the leader board as Lance Mackey, Jeff King, Hans Gatt, and the rest of this year’s Iditarod field approach the burled arch in Nome. It’s our 5pm Iditarod Update from Monday afternoon:

The Iditarod checkpoint of Unalakleet – the first on the Norton Sound coast – has seen a lot of mushers come and go over the past few days. Our trail reporter Laureli spent time in Unalakleet (her hometown) on Sunday and Monday; she sampled the mood from a handful of mushers stopped there as they…

Justin Savidis breathed a big sigh of relief on Sunday night. The rookie musher had already scratched from Iditarod 2010, but the crisis that forced him to scratch had finally been resolved: Savidis found his lost dog Whitey-Lance, after more than four days of searching. Savidis lost Whitey – a three-year-old male – between the…

Emil Churchin has scratched from Iditarod 38. According to Iditarod’s official Eye on the Trail blog, the rookie musher exited the race at 12:40pm Monday afternoon at the Ruby checkpoint. Churchin had 13 dogs in his team and left the race, according to Eye, “based on his team’s ability to continue to compete.” At the…

Ric and Linda ran down the leader board with our 5pm Iditarod Update (on Sunday). Hear musher positions, trail news, and even a bit of speculation about when the first-place musher might arrive in Nome!

Lance Mackey may currently be in first position, but he has two solid competitors in close pursuit: Jeff King and Hans Gatt. King and Gatt both rested in the Unalakleet checkpoint on Sunday morning, and our trail reporter Laureli surveyed their impressions of their runs thus far. King says that he likes Mackey – but…

Three-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey says “you gotta be willing to gamble,” and at least for the time being, his bold moves are paying off. Mackey mushed his team from Nulato to Unalakleet in one, virtually unbroken run, stopping for just 7 minutes in Kaltag on Saturday afternoon and, in the process, overtaking Jeff King…

Judy Currier has scratched. According to Iditarod’s official Eye on the Trail blog, Currier exited Iditarod 38 in the Galena checkpoint at 10:30am Sunday. The Fairbanks musher had 11 dogs remaining in her team, and her departure from the race was related to a personal injury. Iditarod’s Eye says that Currier had “injured her back…